Ambrosia Energy, founded by two alumni from SpaceX, is focused on developing solar power plants that promise quicker construction times and lower costs than traditional natural gas facilities.
Instead of introducing groundbreaking technology, the company combines solar panels with lithium-ion batteries to provide continuous electricity at a competitive rate of $100 per megawatt-hour.
Fast Construction: Co-founder and president Sara Spangelo emphasizes the company's goal: "A power plant should be able to be built at any scale in 12 months from contract signing to power on." Ambrosia aims to scale up to gigawatt levels by 2030.
The startup has innovated by simplifying its battery systems. While typical grid-scale batteries operate in cycles of two to four hours, Ambrosia employs a trickle charge method throughout the day, allowing for a slower discharge overnight. This approach has significantly reduced costs, making their systems cheaper than the industry average.
Competitive Edge: Current combined cycle gas turbines, regarded as the most efficient, cost about $107 per megawatt-hour to build and operate, with a backlog of five to seven years. Ambrosia claims to offer a more reliable alternative.
Spangelo and co-founder Ben Longmier, who previously worked on SpaceX's Starlink project, initially funded Ambrosia with personal capital. The company has since received an investment from DFJ Growth, although details about the investment size remain undisclosed.
Building Experience: Drawing parallels to their time at SpaceX, Spangelo notes that many challenges in energy are similar to those in aerospace. They are applying their experience to streamline the deployment of power plant modules, akin to launching satellite constellations.
Ambrosia is currently constructing a power plant in West Texas, having started just a month after its incorporation. The project is reportedly nearing halfway completion, with parts already operational at full capacity.
Scalability: The systems are designed to be scalable, allowing customers to test smaller setups before committing to larger installations. Ambrosia has access to vast land, potentially enabling the construction of a 30-gigawatt power plant.
Initially, the company will focus on smaller projects of 20 to 30 megawatts, using off-the-shelf components. Future plans include establishing a factory in Austin, Texas, to facilitate larger projects more efficiently. Ambrosia aims to deliver significant power capacity by the end of the decade.
